TheDark Soulsseries, and its various successors and spin-offs, have carved an important place for themselves in the gaming scene, be it the satisfying difficulty, the beautiful surroundings, the thrilling boss fights, or the incredible atmosphere that can oscillate between fantastical and creepy.
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With its popularity, theDark Soulsseries hasinspired its own sub-genreofSoulslike video games. These are usually third-person action-adventure games such asNiohorCode Vein.Fans who like the defining aspects of aDark Soulsgame, however, are in luck; there are a handful of great first-person games that have some similar attributes that players can enjoy.
5S.T.A.L.K.E.R
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobylis a first-person horror game set inthe Zone, inspired by Chernobyl. The game has an interesting progression system where players can upgrade their weapons and equipment, but their stats stay the same. The player’s health and other attributes remain stagnant, making this quite a difficult challenge even on the lower difficulties. Stamina is limited and there are tons of different beasts and mutations players need to fight through, giving it a similar difficulty curve to a typicalSoulslikegame.
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S.T.A.L.K.E.R.also leans heavily into environmental horror and just being an overall creepy game where players are essentially left to fend for themselves. The game plays heavily into a sense of loneliness and desperation for the main character, who has to fight through a dark and depressing world for a morally gray goal. Additionally, the game is littered with bugs, another recurring trend in theDark Soulsseries.
4Prey
The 2017 version ofPreyhas tons of features reminiscent of theSoulslikegenre. Players are dropped into an unforgiving environment, withverylittle to go off on. The story and ‘lore’ of the game are essentially given to players through various logs, context clues, and items. There are very few NPCs, and the entire ship has a gloomy vibe, somewhat likeDark Souls 3.
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The combat is very solid, just the right amount of challenging, and features surprisingly good gunplay and weapon variety. There’s also adecent amount of customization, and player choices subtly affect the game’s ending. Overall,Preyis a very good game, and worth a try for any player looking for moreSoulslikealternatives.
3Metro 2033
Based on the Dmitry Glukhovsky novels, theMetroseries is a survival horror game in a first-person view.Metro 2033was produced by part of the team that createdS.T.A.L.K.E.R.,and the influence is apparent in the quality of the game. Players are thrust into apost-nuclear war Moscowand must navigate a treacherous landscape to uncover the truth behind the ‘Dark Ones’ whilst also dealing with various factions of humans, including other survivors, Neo-Nazis, and a Stalinist Regime. Players experience the world through dark and gloomy environments, be it the expansive wastelands or the sprawling system of metro tunnels, and the game leans heavily into its narrative.
The gameplay revolves around basic first-person shooter combat while incorporating a variety of traditional weapons, crafting, and foraging for supplies. Players, throughout the game, also make subtle choices that affect how the ending plays out. Similar to mostSoulslikegames, the world is bleak and devastating, with little redeeming factors, but players are treated to little sprinkles of humanity from time to time.
2Bioshock
Bioshockis one of the most iconic first-person games out there, and fans areeager for more. Though it may not seem overlySoulslikeat first glance, most fans ofFrom Software’s hit series will quickly fall in love with this game.Bioshock,similar to most games in theDark Soulsseries, has an incredible plot; it isn’t bloated, and it isn’t revealed to players through hours of exposition and dialogue scenes. Rather,Bioshocklets players slowly discover the world on their own while experiencing the underlying horrors of the world through various narrative devices. While the game doesn’t revolve entirely around player choices, small actions eventually add up. Players get the ending their actions deserve. Depending on how manyLittle Sisters the player character harvestsor rescues, Dr. Tenebaum’s narration changes, and different endings are possible as a result.
Whilst the gameplay isn’t particularly challenging, it is well-crafted and rewarding. The different weapons on display all have their own unique niches. Moreover, similar to the estus flasks, players can only have access to a limited number of plasmids and tonics at a time, making healing management all the more important.
1Resident Evil: Village
AResident Evilgame isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks of aSoulslikegame, butResident Evil: Village-an incredible game in its own right - is a must-play for fans of theDark Soulsseries, particularly fans ofBloodborne.Based in, as the title suggests, a Romanian village, the Victorian era architecture influence is apparent. This is somewhat reminiscent of both Yharnam and Castle Cainhurst. Furthermore, players have to usetheir ammunition sparinglyand must regularly engage in hand-to-hand combat or outsmart the hordes of Lycans. Again, while the actual combat system is not likeBloodborne,it has a similar challenge to it, and enemies sure pack a punch. With no dodge button and a weak blocking mechanic, combat can feel difficult, and being hit is essentially a death sentence.
Picking up fromResident Evil 7, Villagetells a tragic and heartbreaking story following Ethan and Rose and how they deal with inescapable loss.Villageis an incredible venture into survival horror and one that any fan ofBloodborneorDark Soulswould love.
